Inside What an Alabama Quarterback Competition is Like

A former Crimson Tide wide receiver gave his perspective on a previous quarterback battle within the program.

Blake Byler | Sep 9, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It's no secret that Alabama football has a situation in 2023 unlike anything the Crimson Tide's experienced in quite some time.

Nick Saban's program has become breeding ground for elite talent at quarterback, with the likes of Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young manning the signal-caller position over the last few seasons. All are now starters in the National Football League.

However, for the first time since 2016, Alabama had a true competition at the position, and with it, true unknowns about who was going to be the starter in 2023, and probably beyond.

So, what is it like in the locker room for a championship contender to not know who is going to lead the team onto the field in Week 1?

Back in 2015, one year before Hurts began Alabama's other-worldly run of quarterbacking talent, the Crimson Tide had a battle between Jake Coker and Cooper Bateman for the starting role. Alabama opened the season at No. 3 in the AP Top 25, the lowest it had opened since before Saban's first national championship in Tuscaloosa.

“Whoever it was going to be, we knew we were going to be in good hands," said Richard Mullaney, who joined the Crimson Tide program for the 2015 season as a graduate transfer from Oregon State. "We trusted at the end of the day that obviously Coach [Nick] Saban was going to make the right decision. Just control what we can control, just be out there and make plays for whoever’s at the quarterback position and just kind of roll with that.”

Saban expects highly of his quarterbacks, not just on the field with their play, but as leaders in both the locker room and the huddle. Throughout spring practice and fall camp leading into this season, Saban has been not only open, but vocal about what he wants to see for someone to take hold of the job.

Ideally, he wants someone to win over the team, to the point that there's really no decision to be made.

"What I tell the quarterbacks is, it's not up to the coaches," Saban said during fall camp. "If you're looking over your shoulder to see if the coach is going to do this or that, how about you forcing me to play you? Force me to play you. Force us to play you. When you get your reps, you get a chance to play, you play so good we don't have any choice but to play you rather than worrying about all this other stuff."

Saban doesn't shy away whenever there's an open competition for quarterback, and that doesn't just apply to how he addresses the media, but the team as well.

“[Saban] definitely would say how there’s a competition out there. I don’t think he really made it a huge deal for the team," Mullaney said. "He was more of like, ‘We’re going to go as a team and we’re going to be successful as a whole unit’ more than, ‘Whoever has the QB role, we’re going to go as they go.’"

Mullaney felt that Saban’s mentality towards the team about the quarterback battle helped the winner slide into the role easier.

As a wide receiver, and a transfer at that, he had to go through getting acclimated to a new program as well as fall camp without knowing who his quarterback was going to be, but the nature of the competition didn't make the transition difficult for him.

"We all were together all the time, running routes, catching balls for them. I think that’s what made that competition fun and successful," Mullaney said. "I don’t think there was a quarterback that was doing a secret group and not inviting the other quarterbacks. I think that’s what made it a fun, friendly competition."

While the friendliness of a competition is great for the lead-up into the season, eventually somebody had to separate themselves as not only the winner of the job, but the leader of the team.

In 2015, it took a couple games for that to be the case.

Alabama opened the season victorious against Wisconsin, and followed it up with a win over Middle Tennessee in Game 2, leading up to a prime-time showdown with Ole Miss in Week 3.

Coker started the first two games, but against Ole Miss, Saban elected to give Bateman the start.

“No one knew until literally the huddle going into the first play. It was Bateman in the huddle and we were all looking around like, ‘Where’s Jake?'" Mullaney said. "It was what it was and we knew we were going to rock with Bateman, but it was definitely a surprise."

Bateman had some issues with turnovers, and Alabama fell behind. So Saban turned to Coker, and gave him the opportunity to step in and make something happen.

While Alabama ultimately lost the game 43-37, Coker's effort, leadership and toughness showed in the comeback won over the fans, the team, and the coaches. He did exactly what Mullaney looks for as a wide receiver from his signal-caller.

"A guy that can get into a huddle, control the huddle, strong presence, strong voice, and obviously the ability to go out and make the throws and do all that," Mullaney said. "I think the ability to control a huddle is very overlooked. Just to be honest, Coker did that very well, with that strong Southern accent that he had. That was one thing, just how he composed himself and how he carried himself, and how he led us.”

During fall camp, Saban used the metaphor of "taking the bull by the horns," to illustrate what he's looking for from his quarterbacks, and that's exactly what Coker did against Ole Miss that September night in 2015.

Now, eight years later, Alabama needs someone to do the exact same thing.

Last week, Jalen Milroe received the start against Middle Tennessee and performed admirably, but if anything, Saban has been candid that the Week 1 starter will not necessarily be the starter for the rest of the season.

"You got an opportunity to separate yourself," Saban said. "But that competition goes on and on and on and we need all our quarterbacks to continue to improve and continue to compete, compete far beyond even the time that we name a starter."

Next up for Alabama is the big one, the game everyone has had circled on their calendars since the two teams scheduled this home-and-home years ago, the Texas Longhorns.

Middle Tennessee is one thing, but Texas is a different animal. Milroe is going to have a chance to either take the bull by the horns himself, as Coker did against Ole Miss, or someone like Tyler Buchner or Ty Simpson might get a chance to step in. But at the very least, Milroe has the attitude Saban wants from his quarterback.

"Overall, I need to get better, I need to be better," he said after Week 1. "I think the biggest thing is looking in the mirror. Just constantly wanting to improve. That's the key for every person trying to be successful."

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) shouts at the line of scrimmage during the second quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker (14) smiles following their win against the Florida Gators 29-15 in the 2015 SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome.

Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Richard Mullaney (16) reacts on the field during the second quarter against the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Jalen Milroe (4) and Ty Simpson (15).

Published Sep 9, 2023

BLAKE BYLER

Blake Byler is a staff writer for BamaCentral and primarily covers Alabama basketball and football. He has covered a wide variety of Crimson Tide sports since 2021, and began writing full-time for BamaCentral in 2023. You can find him on Twitter/X @blakebyler45.